What did James David Rogers do? Ohio man sentenced to more than 3 years in prison for harassing actress Eva LaRue 

Los Angeles police officers have sentenced James Rogers, an Ohio resident, to about 3 1/2 years in federal prison for his 12-year campaign of harassment against TV actress Eva LaRue and her young daughter, Kaya McKenna Callahan. The mother-daughter pair were the targets of Rogers's stalking, harassment, and threat campaign in which he threatened them with torture, r*pe, and death.

On September 9, Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles sentenced Rogers, who had pleaded guilty earlier this year. He has been charged with sending threatening letters, one count of making threats through interstate communications, and two counts of stalking. The district judge, John A. Kronstadt, described the man's actions as "inexcusable."

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Eva LaRue and daughter threatened with alleged 37 letters written by Rogers

Based on sources, the accused James Rogers' threat campaign against Eva LaRue and Kaya started in March 2007 and went on till November 2019. Kaya was allegedly 5 years old when Rogers started stalking and threatening her. He would frequently send them r*pe and death threats via letters while introducing himself as the fictitious serial killer 'Freddie Krueger' from the horror movie series A Nightmare on Elm Street.

In the months of October and November 2019, the suspect contacted LaRue's daughter's school numerous times while pretending as her father and inquiring as to whether or not she was present. The FBI quickly apprehended Rogers and established that the calls to the school were made from his cell phone.

Reportedly, federal authorities obtained a five-count indictment against James Rogers two weeks later. A total of 37 threatening letters that Rogers sent to Eva LaRue and her daughter were also discovered during their investigation, including one in June 2015 that stated,

“I am the man who has been stalking for the last 7 years. Now I have my eye on you too.”

In another letter, written in February 2008, Rogers swore to LaRue that he would,

“stalk her (you) until the day you die.”

It was also reported that Eva LaRue and her daughter "drove circuitous routes home" and slept with firearms nearby because of constant intimidation and threats. They allegedly also had discussions about how to seek assistance if the defendant discovered them and tried to hurt them.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Vargas and Amy Pomerantz wrote in their memo:

“They tried to anonymize their addresses as much as possible by avoiding receiving mail and packages at their actual address. Each time they moved, defendant’s letters...and the victims’ terror...would always follow. And defendant knew it."

Waseem Salahi, Rogers' federal public defender, testified before the court that his client has "psychiatric instability" and asserted that people do irrational things when they're mentally unwell. He said:

“He is actually a very sweet, gentle person...but he’s also mentally ill, and that makes him into someone else sometimes.”

In an emotional victim impact statement, Eva LaRue admitted to the judge in federal court in Los Angeles that she underwent counseling ever since the harassment began to deal with her feelings of dread and anxiety. She said:

“We didn’t know if he would show up on our doorstep. We will think about him for a lifetime. The fear is with me forever.”

The judge directed Rogers to turn himself in on October 12 to begin serving his term at an Ohio federal prison.